Strengthening
by CellarDoor96
Summary: Ashia the Chikorita is not as strong as the other residents of Treasure Town, and they know it. When Aden, a Cyndaquil, tries to help her get stronger so she can defend herself, can she prove her strength? Oneshot. Happy hatchday Blazing!


I do not own Pokemon or the characters' species, but I own the characters.

**Strengthening**

"Come on, fight back. I wanna see what you can do!"

Ashia curled her small green body up tighter. "N-no."

The black creature standing over her laughed, glancing at his comrades. "See, she complains about us _bothering_ her, but she won't even try to stop us!"

A white and brown Pokemon laughed behind him. "Are you hungry, Ashia?" A moment later Ashia flinched as something gooey splattered across her back. She buried her face in the ground.

A large red spider-like Pokemon skittered forward. "It appears the Chikorita is not hungry. A waste of a berry," it said in a somber monotone.

"Go away," Ashia said, still with her eyes shut tightly.

"Oh, you want us to go away now? Do you mean you don't _like_ us?" The black creature, a Sneasel, grinned.

The Pokemon standing next to him, who was a Snover, shook his head. "Why do you even ask those kinds of questions, Shamir?"

The Sneasel glared at him. "Because… I don't know. It's fun."

The spider behind them, an Ariados, moved forward. "Stop bickering," it said in the same monotone.

"Fine." The Snover turned to Ashia again and stepped toward her, standing next to Shamir. "How come you always want to play with everyone but us?"

A new voice intruded. "Leave her alone."

The Sneasel, Ariados, and Snover looked up in surprise. Even Ashia lifted her face and opened her eyes, glancing around in confusion.

A small green and yellow Pokemon with a long snout appeared from the trees behind Ashia, running on all fours to come to a stop next to her. It glared at the other three Pokemon, and for a few moments no one moved.

Finally Shamir the Sneasel laughed. "Oh, so here comes Aden to the rescue. Heh, you're even smaller than she is, just a puny Cyndaquil."

The Snover stepped forward. "Make us leave her alone."

The Cyndaquil, named Aden, growled, "I'm warning you. How humiliating would it be for Team Dusk to be beaten by me?"

The Ariados skittered forward, and the Snover and Sneasel moved to let her pass. "There are three of us against two of you."

Aden's back began to glow. "This is your last warning, Lareina."

Lareina the Ariados didn't move for a few seconds, staring at him. Finally she said, "It is not worth the trouble. Ilan, Shamir, let us go." With that she turned and skittered off, disappearing into the forest.

Shamir and Ilan, the Snover, turned and watched her go with dismayed expressions. After a moment, Shamir glanced back and hissed, "You'd better keep an eye open while you sleep tonight, _Cyndaquil_." With that, he and his remaining partner scurried away, also vanishing into the shadows.

Neither Aden nor Ashia moved for several seconds, until Aden turned to the Chikorita and smiled, letting out a breath of relief. "I'm glad they decided not to fight me, I probably would have lost if it were three on one…"

Ashia stood up shakily on her four stubby feet. "Th-thanks, Aden…" She blushed.

The Cyndaquil turned red also. "You're welcome. I couldn't just do nothing…" His face returned to its normal color as he observed, "You know, you really shouldn't just _let_ them bully you."

"But what else can I do?" she protested. "They're stronger than me, and I can't just run away because they're faster too…"

Aden tilted his head thoughtfully and paused for a second before replying. "…Then you'll just have to get stronger."

She opened her mouth partway and froze. Finally she squeaked, "…How?"

He reached out and peeled drying berry remains off her back. "First we should wash this off."

She glanced at the squishy mess he was holding. "Oh. Okay." She took a deep breath to calm herself, then smiled at him. "Thanks again."

He nodded, starting to walk off and gesturing for her to follow. "Come on, let's go back to Treasure Town."

She hurried after him.

A few minutes later, they emerged from the trees in blazing sunlight. Ashia blinked as her eyes adjusted to the sudden light, then surveyed the area before them.

It was something she had seen often before. Several buildings were strewn around, with dirt paths running between them. Among the colorful huts and tents were many varieties of Pokemon, chatting and doing business and in a few cases, battling. In general, it was a place that gave off a happy, carefree sort of vibe. It was called Treasure Town.

Aden glanced at her. "Come on, let's get to the river."

Five minutes later, Ashia was much cleaner and also much wetter. She stood alongside Aden, shivering, and asked, "W-what now?"

He looked around. "When you're dry, we can go to Marowak's Dojo."

Her eyes widened. "There?" She instantly recalled all the stories she'd heard about that place.

"Yep." He sensed her fear and turned to her, looking over her. "What's wrong?"

"…You mean you don't know what they say about that place?"

"Yes, I do… Don't worry, all that stuff's nonsense. Come on, if you don't work for it you'll never get stronger. And you want to get stronger, right?"

She hesitated, then asked quietly, "W-why can't _you_ just protect me?"

He blushed. "Well, I will, but I can go everywhere with you. I'm not a bodyguard…"

"Oh." She reddened in embarrassment. "I guess not…"

He turned away. "Alright, so dry off and then let's go."

~.~

Marowak looked up sharply as two small Pokemon entered the room. He was a brown, reptilian Pokemon with a skull on his head, like a helmet. "Who are you?" he asked in a deep, low voice.

Aden stepped forward. "It's me, Aden."

Marowak nodded. "And who is that?" He pointed the white bone he was holding at Ashia.

Aden glanced back at her, and when he saw that she was too scared to reply, he looked back to Marowak and answered for her. "Her name's Ashia."

"Hm. And why are you two here?"

Aden gestured to Ashia, whispering, "Go on, tell him."

She gave him an uneasy glance, then stepped forward and gulped. "I want to train so I can get stronger."

Marowak raised an eyebrow, despite that it didn't make a difference as they couldn't see it. "Well, then, you're certainly in the right place. Welcome to my dojo."

She nodded uncertainly.

He stepped forward, surveying the inside of his brown hut. It was filled with all sorts of training equipment and weapons, scattered on the floor and hung on the walls. After several moments he returned his gaze to the small green Pokemon. "First, I will need to ask you some things. Are you prepared to do whatever it takes to reach your goal? It will be hard. Very hard."

She nodded again.

"Do you accept that you will have to take orders from me?"

Nod.

"Will you try as hard as you possibly can?"

Another nod.

"Well, then…" Marowak's right arm snapped forward, sending the bone it held sailing in a gleaming arc to strike a metal helmet that sat on a shelf. The result was a metallic _clank_. Taking a step forward, he then snatched the bone out of the air as it fell back down, without even looking. "I suppose you're ready. Hit that."

She stared at it blankly. "With what?"

Aden whispered, "Can't you used some sort of ranged attack? Like Razor Leaf?"

She brightened. "Oh, yeah, that's right."

Ashia pulled her head back, then twisted it forward, and the leaf on top of it broke away, flying through the air. With a dull _thud_ it impacted the wall next to the helmet, leaving a new scratch on the already heavily scarred walls. Instantly a new leaf sprouted from her head to replace the first.

She groaned in frustration. "I missed."

Marowak shook his head. "Maybe, but you did better than most new trainees. Try again."

She nodded, sighing, and then shot off the leaf again. Like before, it missed the helmet, only this time it struck the wall on the other side of her target.

Marowak stepped forward. "Look at the helmet, focus solely on it. Nothing else matters."

She gave a slight nod as the leaf on her head grew back. Then she looked up and at the metal helmet, shining dully in the half-light, and focused on it, narrowing her eyes. When she was sure she was completely focused on it, she let her leaf fly once more.

_Thud_.

The leaf hit the wall again and embedded itself there.

Marowak nodded. "Excellent."

She frowned. "But I missed. Again."

"Yes, but two things were different this time. First, you were much closer to your target. That means either you were lucky or you have improved. Second, your attack was much more forceful this time. See, it's stuck in the wall."

She blinked. "Oh."

Aden smiled. "See, you can do it."

"Now," Marowak continued, "Try again. Keep trying until you hit the helmet."

Four more tries later, Ashia was rewarded with a _ping_ as her leaf bounced off the helmet. For several moments, no one moved, staring at the leaf as it slowly fluttered to the floor to join the other six. Once it landed, Ashia squealed. "I did it!"

Aden grinned. "I told you."

She turned and hugged him, balancing on her back feet. He turned red. "Thank you!" she said happily.

Marowak interrupted. "Good job, but you are not done yet."

She released Aden and turned back to Marowak, her euphoria evaporating. "Oh. …What's next, then?"

The brown Pokemon was silent for several moments, studying her, before saying slowly, "Next, you can go through one of the mazes."

Aden snapped out of his dazed state. "A maze? Already?"

"Yes," Marowak reaffirmed with a nod. "She shows some promise, and the best way to learn is through experience. Still, I would normally not let you into the mazes yet, but… I'm sure Aden could help you if you found yourself in too much trouble. He _has_ been through several of my mazes already."

"Really?" Ashia looked back at the Cyndaquil and studied him with newfound respect. Then a thought occurred to her. "What if we're knocked out, or we get lost?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine."

_That's not especially reassuring…_ Ashia took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm ready, then."

Marowak nodded and gestured with his bone at a door in the back of the room. "Go through there. Take the path to the right."

"Will you come with me, Aden?" she asked, glancing at her companion.

He nodded and started toward the door. "Of course."

~.~

Ashia knew she was in for it the moment she stepped through the door into a dim corridor that turned sharply to the left after a few feet. Aden followed her a second later, sniffing the air and grimacing. "It smells… wet," he observed.

Both Pokemon jumped and spun as the stone door slammed shut behind them. For several seconds they stared at it, before Aden observed, "I don't think we'll be going back that way."

Ashia swallowed, then wordlessly turned and started down the tunnel. Aden followed after her.

As soon as she turned the corner she froze. Standing before her was a blue turtle-like Pokemon, with a brown and tan shell. A Squirtle. It stared at her, and she stared at it. Once Aden turned the corner, he stared at both of them.

Then, without warning, the Squirtle attacked. It opened its mouth and fired a blast of pressurized water. Ashia screamed and ducked, and it missed her completely. But, as Aden found out a moment later when the water slammed into him and sent him flying, that was because it hadn't been aimed at her.

She spun and cried, "Aden!"

He hit the far wall and fell to the ground. After a moment, he pulled himself back to his feet, wincing. "Ow. That was _not_ pleasant."

Ashia started to rush to him to check if he was okay, when she was struck by another blast of water from behind. She fell forward and instinctively shut her eyes as she skidded a distance on the rocky floor.

Aden cried out in concern. "Ashia! Are you alright?"

She picked herself up shakily, her body and face a little scratched up and wet but otherwise fine. "Yes, but you hit the wall! Are you okay?!"

He nodded, gesturing at the Squirtle. "It's a water-dwelling Pokemon. Your attacks should be more effective than mine. Use Razor Leaf!"

She nodded in acknowledgement, turning to their assailant and whipping her head around, throwing the leaf on her head in its direction. The Squirtle saw the leaf coming, and its eyes widened as it started to jump out of the way, but it was too slow and was hit on the head by the leaf, knocking it out cold.

Both Ashia and Aden stood there for several moments, breathing heavily. Once she caught her breath, Ashia walked cautiously to the Squirtle and studied it.

"Good job," Aden congratulated her.

She looked at him. "Did… I do that?"

He nodded.

She smiled. "So I _can_ defend myself! Thank you."

He shook his head. "I didn't do anything but bring you here. It was all your doing."

"But still… If you hadn't been here, I wouldn't have known what to do. You gave me confidence."

The Cyndaquil blushed. "Well, y-you're welcome. I guess."

She gestured at the passageway past the unconscious Squirtle. "Come on."

~.~

They encountered a couple more Pokemon; a Poliwag and another Squirtle. Those were more difficult to defeat, requiring two Razor Leaves each while Aden just stood and watched and felt useless. He couldn't do anything until the flame on his back flared up, but he was wet and when he tried to flare it up it only emitted steam. He quickly realized that Marowak had told them to go into this maze specifically because it would be easy for her, and not quite so easy for him.

They began seeing puddles of water on the floor, small and far apart at first but gradually increasing in both size and frequency. Needless to say, Aden was careful to avoid them.

Of course, eventually they turned another corner and found themselves looking into a large, spacious chamber which was taken up almost completely by a huge pool of water. In its exact center was a set of stone stairs, leading up into the ceiling. Ashia stopped. Aden froze.

The Chikorita tentatively stepped forward, looking down into the depths of the pool. "It's… pretty deep."

"How are we supposed to get across then?"

She glanced back at him. "Can you swim?"

He fidgeted uncomfortably. "Well, actually… no."

She blinked. "Oh. Well, I can swim, so maybe you could hold on to me while I swim across? I think we're supposed to go to those stairs."

He hesitated. "It's not so much how deep the water is as… I really don't want to get wet."

She took a deep breath, turning to face him. "And I really didn't want to come here in the first place, but here I am, because you made me. Now I'm going to make you come across with me, alright?"

He sighed. "Fine." Then he smiled. "Thanks, I guess I _was_ being a little selfish… I just feel like I'm useless here. My flame is put out already, and I can't do anything without it… And if I get it even more wet I might not be able to help you if we run into real trouble."

Her eyes softened. "Don't worry, you're helping me just by being here. Now come on." She turned and walked to the edge of the water, wading into it. "Grab onto me."

He nodded and stepped forward, stopping at the edge of the water and leaning as far forward as he could, grabbing onto her neck without touching the water. She sighed. "You're going to get wet anyway, Aden."

He nodded, shutting his eyes. "I know. I can't help it… Hurry up, let's get this over with."

She took a few more steps into the pool, and Aden gasped as he sunk into the water. But he still didn't say anything. Soon her feet left the bottom, and she started swimming. Aden climbed on top of her to try to keep from going under, but he was already soaked and shivering.

Ashia started to feel the strain of having a passenger. Her breathing became heavier, and as she swam further from the shore into deeper water, she started having trouble keeping her head above the surface. _I can't give up now, we'll either make it across or… or nothing._

Glancing ahead, she saw to her relief that they were almost to the stairs in the center of the pool and pushed herself harder, pumping her feet as quickly as she could.

At last her feet touched something solid, and she stopped swimming, pulling herself onto the dry staircase. There, Aden let go of her, and they collapsed, both breathing heavily.

Once they had caught their breath, Aden stood up and smiled. "Thanks."

She stood up as well and smiled back. "You're welcome."

Then, with silent agreement, they turned and made their way up the stairs.

~.~

Once they reached the top of the staircase, Ashia surveyed their new surroundings, seeing that they were in a large room hewn out of rock. But that wasn't why she froze in surprise a moment later, as she noticed that there was someone else already in the room.

Marowak laughed, spinning his bone in his right hand. "Surprise!"

Ashia and Aden stepped off the staircase, staring at him. After a moment, there was a click, and both Pokemon spun and saw with dismay that a rock slab was sliding closed across the hole for the stairs, sealing them off.

Marowak stepped forward. "Good teamwork. Never be ashamed to admit your fear, or to ask others for help. You did well."

Ashia turned, eyes wide. "You were watching us?"

"Of course. I needed to monitor your progress, and I have to say that you've done exceptionally well, Ashia. Now, for your test." Marowak threw his bone at Ashia, and she flinched, but it missed her by a fraction, then curved back around and missed her again, before Marowak snatched it out of the air. "Let's see how well you two do against me."

Ashia stepped backward. "B-but, there's no way we can beat you…"

Aden put his paw on her back in a show of support. "We might not be able to, but we won't know until we try." He gave a quick smile, before dashing forward and running right at Marowak.

Marowak didn't move as Aden ran at him. Right before Aden reached him, as the Cyndaquil prepared to Scratch him, he stepped aside and let Aden run right past him. Aden stopped and twisted back around, opening his mouth and biting at the brown Pokemon. To the surprise of all three Pokemon in the room, he bit down on Marowak's left arm.

"Good job. Improvisation." With those congratulatory words, Marowak brought his bone around and clubbed Aden in the head. Immediately the Cyndaquil let go, stepping backward and grabbing his head, dazed.

Ashia gasped, then immediately fired off a Razor Leaf. Marowak looked up just in time to see it coming. A moment later it struck him in the stomach, knocking him to the ground.

Aden shook his head, seeing Marowak go down. Instantly he moved forward, planting his foot on the larger Pokemon's chest. Marowak tried to get up, but Aden pushed him back down. He was pinned.

"Good," Marowak said, before starting to bring up his right arm. Aden quickly shifted his weight and stomped on that arm, pinning it to the ground as well. But Marowak didn't let go of his bone. Aden reached down and grabbed the gleaming white weapon, trying to pry it out of its owner's grasp.

"No one else has ever managed to do this, you know," Marowak said, not sounding at all strained despite the fact that Aden was using all of his strength to try to pull the bone out of his hand. "And you even recognized that my bone is the source of my strength. But, I must warn you that no matter how hard you try, you won't be able to take it from me."

Aden grunted. Marowak smiled.

Then Marowak was struck in the side by another sharp leaf, making him flinch. In that instant Aden managed to tear the bone from him, throwing it to the other side of the room, where it struck the wall and fell to the floor with a clatter.

Marowak slumped in defeat. "You win. You both are much more resourceful than I thought at first. Excellent teamwork. You know… I never expected you to actually defeat me; I had only been trying to see how long you would hold out."

Aden moved off Marowak and stepped back, letting him get to his feet. The brown Pokemon wasn't even breathing heavily. Both Ashia and Aden watched wordlessly as he walked to where his bone lay, bent down, and picked it up. Then he walked past them to one of the walls and touched it. Immediately that section of wall swung outward with a grating noise.

Marowak gestured for them to follow, then stepped through the doorway and disappeared. Ashia and Aden glanced at each other, smiled, and moved to follow.

Suddenly, a red blur shot through the doorway, blowing past the two Pokemon. They spun.

"This isn't over yet," Lareina said, turning and spraying sticky web from her rear. It missed them, but when they turned back around they realized why.

The web struck the door, sticking to it, and with a yank Lareina slammed it shut. Then she fired more web at it, covering it quickly in a strong, sticky substance. Aden and Ashia spun back around in dismay, seeing Lareina facing them with Ilan the Snover and Shamir the Sneasel standing on either side of her.

Shamir held up his sharp claws, which gleamed dully in the semi-lighted room. "We told you we would get back at you, so here we are! Now that you've been weakened by that idiot Marowak, we can take care of you."

Ilan chuckled. "I've been looking forward to this for a long time…"

Lareina skittered forward, her accomplices moving aside to let her pass. "If you surrender now, we will spare you."

Ashia and Aden stared for a few seconds, before Aden shook his head. "No way! We can beat you."

Ashia demanded, "What did you do to Marowak?"

Ilan laughed again. "Don't worry, he's fine. In fact, he's probably still asleep. He isn't all that he's cracked up to be…"

She glared, then pulled her head back and threw her Razor Leaf at him. He simply stood there, and it struck him with a dull _thud_, bouncing off and falling to the floor. He smirked.

Shamir dashed forward, striking out with his claws at Ashia. Aden cried out and jumped in the way, grunting as the Sneasel's claws bit into his shoulder.

Shamir stepped back, eyeing the blood on his claws. "Heheh, it seems you care about her a lot… But since your flame is out, you can't do anything to help."

Aden concentrated, and with a hiss steam began to pour from the four holes on his back. Ashia moved toward him in concern. "Are you alright? You're hurt…"

He winced. "I'm fine. Listen, Ashia. There's no way you can beat them."

"But—"

"Wait. I said I would protect you, and I will. But I need you to buy me some time while I dry myself off." He glanced at her and gave a small smile. Steam was coming off of his entire body now, like wraiths escaping from their prison.

She hesitated, then nodded. Turning to Team Dusk, she threw another Razor Leaf, which Shamir slashed with his claws out of the air.

Lareina hissed, "Get the Cyndaquil."

Ilan and Shamir nodded, stepping forward. Ashia moved between them and Aden. "No way," she growled.

Shamir smirked. "Heh, so the weakling finally found some guts. Well…" He brandished his claws, one of which was stained with Aden's already drying blood. "Time for _surgery!_"

He dashed forward, swinging his claws at Ashia. She tried to launch another Razor Leaf, but was too slow, and he sunk his other claw into her side. She stiffened and swallowed her scream.

"So…" Shamir whispered, bringing his face right up to hers, "how does it feel to be weak, then think you're strong, and then find out you're weak again? Heheh…"

He pulled his claw out of her skin, leaving a bloody wound. She winced.

Ilan moved forward, his expression troubled. "Shamir, maybe you should stop now… If you kill them we'll be in a lot of trouble."

The Sneasel turned to him. "Bah! Are you getting soft now, Ilan? Don't worry, I won't kill them." He smiled sadistically. "I'll just keep them barely alive. Death would be too easy."

Lareina skittered forward. "Shamir, you are out of control. Stop now and let Ilan and me handle this."

He glared at her, and for several seconds no one moved. Finally he nodded, mumbling, "Fine." He stepped away from Ashia. "They're all yours."

Ilan stepped back. "Go ahead, Miss."

Lareina lurched forward, watching Ashia flinch. "You are stronger than you were this morning. How did you accomplish that in so little time?"

Ashia swallowed, then set her face. "I don't know. Maybe I was never weak, I just thought I was. Maybe it was Aden who helped me by encouraging me." She stepped forward, closing the gap between her and the Ariados slightly. "Maybe it's because I don't cheat and lie and crawl around in the shadows, like you."

Lareina nodded. "Perhaps. Or perhaps… all that has changed is your confidence." Then her purple eyes flashed, and Ashia cried out as a magenta light enveloped her body. "No matter. I will always be stronger than you."

Ashia tried to move, but found she couldn't. Her body wouldn't respond. Aden gasped behind her.

Lareina crawled forward, bringing her gleaming white mandibles up to within an inch of Ashia's face. "Think of this as a lesson. Only pick fights with people who you're sure you can defeat. Survival of the fittest. Though, in your case… that means you should _never_ pick fights." With that, the horn on her forehead began to glow, and she moved backward, lowering her head as she prepared to jab it into Ashia. Ashia shut her eyes, waiting for the feeling of something sharp piercing her flesh.

That feeling never came. Instead, she became aware of a searing heat blasting past her, accompanied by the crackling of flames. Opening her eyes, she saw Aden standing next to her, mouth open with flames pouring from it. His back was also on fire.

Lareina hissed and skittered backward as the flames hit her, eliciting the smell of burning flesh. After a moment, she shuddered and collapsed, her eyes glazing over. Aden closed his mouth, stopping the flow of flames. Immediately Ashia was released from the magenta light and could move again.

For several moments no one moved. Then Shamir dashed straight at Aden, claws raised and extended fully. Aden simply turned and reopened his mouth, blasting the Sneasel with more flames. Immediately Shamir was sent flying into a wall, connecting with a _crack_ and falling limply to the rocky floor.

Ashia and Aden then both turned to Ilan. He raised his stalk-like arms fearfully. "Uh, no, I'm not stupid. I don't wanna be cooked."

They stared at him blankly for a moment, before they both smiled and looked at each other. The flames on Aden's back died down.

Ashia giggled. "Thanks Aden." She then leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. He instantly turned red, the flames on his back flaring up again slightly.

"Y-yeah, no problem…" He fidgeted uncomfortably, trying to make his flames turn off.

She blushed, too, and for an awkward moment, they just stood there, looking very red. Finally Aden snapped out of his daze and said, "You're hurt. We need to get out of here and get help."

Ilan stepped forward, clearing his throat. "Um…"

They both spun to face him, Aden's flames flaring up once more. The Snover froze.

"What do you want?" Aden growled.

Ilan chuckled nervously. "Well, seeing as how you could probably roast me now, I thought I should apologize… And, well, if you want I could heal you with my Ingrain."

Aden glanced at Ashia. "Well, what do you think?"

She shrugged. "Why not? He can't try anything without you frying him, so… It's alright with me."

Ilan nodded. "O-okay. Well, um…" He concentrated.

Tiny vines sprouted from the ground underneath Ashia and Aden. Wrapping around their feet, they began to glow. Immediately, both felt their exhaustion wash away, and the pain from each of their respective claw wounds disappear. After a few seconds, the vines stopped glowing, turned brown, and withered away.

Aden glanced at his shoulder, then at Ashia's side, seeing that both wounds had disappeared. The flames on his back died down.

Ashia smiled. "Thank you Ilan. Maybe you're not as bad as you seemed."

He glared, then quickly changed his expression to a small smile. "I only did it because if I didn't, either I would never get out of this room, or I would get fried, or I would get in a lot more trouble with the Guild."

Aden turned to the door, which was still covered by white, sticky goo. He opened his mouth, the flames on his back flaring up for a fourth time, and spewed flames at the substance. It caught fire and half melted, half burned away, until finally there was nothing left. Aden closed his mouth, cutting off the stream of fire, walked over to the door, and pushed it open. Through the now-open doorway could be seen a short tunnel, with a set of stairs at the end. From the top of the stairs shone a bright light.

Ashia moved to join him. He glanced at her, and she glanced at him, and their eyes met. For a long moment their gazes were connected.

Then Aden asked softly, "Want to start a team?"

She paused, then nodded and smiled. "Of course."

He grinned. "What should we name it?"

She shrugged. "Whatever you want. You should be the leader."

He shook his head. "No, I think you should be the leader. You deserve it."

"Thank you." She kissed his cheek again, making him turn red and flare up once again. Then she giggled. "I think it's cute how your fire gets stronger when I do that. Maybe I should have done that when we were fighting Team Dusk."

He blinked, before stammering, "N-no, I, um, m-maybe, but…"

She grinned. "How about this, then?" With that, she kissed him on the lips, making his flames grow even bigger and raising the temperature of the room by several degrees. Ilan stepped back when he was hit by the heat wave.

They held the kiss for a long moment. Even though Ashia felt like she was in the middle of a blast furnace, she didn't mind.

Finally they separated. Aden gasped, "Stop, you'll hurt me. Even _I_ have a limit to how much heat I can stand…"

She blinked sweat away from her eyes. "Oops, sorry."

He managed to make his flames die down some, even though they were still pretty strong. "Alright, come on. Let's go." He turned and walked to the stairs, gesturing for her to follow.

Ashia glanced back at Ilan, who was looking very uncomfortable. "Do you want to join our team?" she asked.

He blinked. "Um, well… Considering Shamir and Lareina would probably kill me for healing you… Sure."

She smiled. "Then, welcome to our team."

She turned and ran to catch up with Aden. Ilan mumbled something, then hurried after them.


End file.
